


WIRED: The Gold Standard

by John the Alligator (Chyronic)



Series: The Superhero AU [1]
Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, I mean you gotta admit Niv-Mizzet's aesthetic is an Interesting Choice in the age of iPhones, in-universe journalism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 04:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6104464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chyronic/pseuds/John%20the%20Alligator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“I hope so,” he says. “I really hope so. Because the greatest mortal triumph I can think of is making impossible claims and then living up to them.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Interview

> [Image: Niv-Mizzet, a tall, thin Black man in his mid-thirties, grins at the viewer from across a dark wood table, one forearm planted perpendicular to the camera’s gaze, other elbow out with his hand braced on the table. His teeth and eyes are bright, skin darker than the wood, black hair in twists. He’s wearing the usual red and blue striped dress shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow, and a bronze-gold vest.]

_Even before the dragon logo and cutting-edge status, Izzet-branded technology is recognizable by silhouette and distinctive gold plating. When I asked about that aesthetic, the inventor smiled. Within five years of his emergence onto the world stage, one of his more iconic lines was “Either you know me or you’re sleeping through this century.” Is that image hubristic?_

“I hope so,” he says. “I really hope so. Because the greatest mortal triumph I can think of is making impossible claims and then living up to them.” He winks. “I hope you and yours will keep me honest.”

 _Even so,_ I continue. _It’s a strange stance to take in any market. What makes the image worth limiting customer choice—and potentially being left behind?_

“‘Take it or leave it’ is everyone’s approach to technology, especially at the mobile consumer level,” he says intently. “All love to Steve Jobs, but his aesthetic legacy is soulless and sterile and we don’t need another of him. We don’t need more of the same. We don’t need this mad rush to be identical. But evidently, what people _want_ is me.”

His expression flickers the tiniest bit when drawing comparisons to others. Another well-known quote: “Our first goal is to be peerless.” But whether he wants to or not, Niv-Mizzet shares an industry—and a world—with ever-increasing numbers of people like him. The easiest and frequent comparison is to Apple, even before their abortive attempts at collaboration, and he knows it. But Izzet Labs’ cultural impact is far different. _As evidenced by their only recent branching out into consumer-level technology, the variety of plates his company keeps spinning at one time rivals Google—without the giant workforce or the history of focus. How do they manage it?_

“I think we’re exercising quite a lot of restraint, actually,” he says, without a trace of irony. “We’re not in medical technology, we’re not really in supercomputers, we don’t do much software or cloud work, like email or storage; half of those _are_ things I am deliberately holding off on. Right now, I’m changing the way people experience and interact with the world, but that’s barely earthshaking. I might well have thoughts on changing _people_.”

Even with the changing face of Big Data, that’s a broad statement. _Perhaps_ , I say carefully, _even a frightening one._

His grin is quick and easy, and could be readily compared to the sharp white glow of his company’s emblem. “I don’t know,” Niv-Mizzet says. “Do you trust me?”


	2. Behind-the-scenes outtake:

“I might well have thoughts on changing _people_. There’s a million things I haven’t done, so—” he grins “—just you wait.”

“Is that a Hamilton reference?” I blurt out.

He winks again.

“The great Niv-Mizzet is into Broadway musicals in his off hours? Good to know.” _I’m thinking out loud,_ I realize, and try to spin it. “Actually, what _do_ you do for fun?”

“I like politics,” he says.

“No,” I try to say, “like, to unwind.”

“ _Yes_ ,” he says. “I like politics. On many scales, in media and in life. I dabble.”

“For most people, an interest in politics is _work_ , though—you know,” I find myself saying, wondering if he does know that. How different is his life from anything I can imagine? The other people I’ve interviewed like him pretend humility, or are American, or something that’s right for the genre. ( _I’m a glorified intern, for fuck’s sake,_ I think.)

“And most people use my life’s work for fun,” Niv-Mizzet says. “I’d say we’re even.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three is the published page. But that requires, like, painting.


End file.
